Battle of Xu Province (200)

The Battle of Xu Province occurred from 199 to 200 AD when the army of Cao Cao conquered Xu Province from the rival warlord Liu Bei. Liu Bei had taken part in Dong Cheng's failed assassination plot against Cao Cao, whom they believed sought to usurp Emperor Xian of Han, and Cao Cao was able to discover the edict and purged the participants. Liu Bei fled to Xu Province, where he decided to join forces with Yuan Shao in a bid to gain a powerful ally against Cao Cao. However, Guo Jia led an invasion of Xu Province to prevent Liu Bei from allying with Yuan Shao. While Liu Bei and Zhang Fei were able to escape, Guan Yu stayed behind to protect Liu Bei and his family, and he was persuaded by Cao Cao's general Zhang Liao to serve Cao Cao after ensuring that Cao Cao would not mistreat Cao Cao's concubines, that he would be surrendering to the Emperor and not to Cao Cao, and that he could leave upon discovering his brothers' whereabouts. Once again, Liu Bei was without a land to call his own, and he was ultimately forced to flee to Yuan Shao.

Victory at Xiapi
Following the Battle of Xiapi and the death of Lu Bu, the victorious Cao Cao and Liu Bei were invited to join Emperor Xian of Han in the capital of Xuchang. There, Emperor Xian discovered that Liu Bei was his uncle and a fellow descendant of the first Han emperor, Liu Bang, and the two became close friends. Cao Cao's advisor Xun Yu warned him of the danger of the Emperor becoming close to Liu Bei, but Cao Cao did not believe Liu Bei to be a threat, and instead focused on having Imperial Guardian Yang Biao executed due to his kinship ties to Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu; he ultimately banished him after Kong Rong spoke in his favor. Court Counselor Zhao Yan attempted to impeach Cao Cao for removing a minister of state without a decree, but Cao Cao had Zhao Yan sentenced to death, terrifying the Imperial Court into submission.

Girdle Decree Plot
Cao Cao then went with the Emperor, Liu Bei, and several others on a royal hunt, where Cao Cao breached decorum by using the Emperor's bow to kill a hare (making it look as if the Emperor had achieved an amazing shot), only to keep the bow for himself; this angered Guan Yu and Liu Bei. Emperor Xian was convinced by the Empress to summon State Uncle Dong Cheng to the Palace, and, in 199 AD, Dong Cheng hatched a plot to assassinate Cao Cao. Dong Cheng, Commander Chong Ji, Court Counselor Wu Shi, and Minister Wang Zifu decided to draw up a decree calling for Cao Cao's death, and Governor Ma Teng soon joined the conspiracy. Eventually, Dong Cheng persuaded Liu Bei to add his signature to the decree.

Return to Xu Province
Upon hearing of Gongsun Zan's death in battle with Yuan Shao at the Battle of Yijing, Liu Bei grew frightened that Cao Cao would become even more powerful, so he sought an excuse to leave the capital. When he discovered that Yuan Shu was going to lead an army north to join his brother Yuan Shao, Liu Bei managed to gain an excuse to leave the capital and defeat Yuan Shu's army. Cao Cao sent two of his generals to accompany him, and Liu Bei destroyed Yuan Shu's army; Yuan Shu died of illness in Jiangling shortly afterward. However, Liu Bei sent Cao Cao's generals back to Xuchang as he remained in Xu Province, angering Cao Cao, who feared that Liu Bei was now out of his control. Xun Yu advised Cao Cao to have Deputy Imperial Protector Che Zhou assassinate Liu Bei in an ambush, but Chen Gui and Chen Deng warned Liu Bei of the plot. Guan Yu slew and beheaded Che Zhou; Zhang Fei then went on to exterminate Che Zhou's family in Xuzhou.

Liu Bei and Yuan Shao's alliance
Chen Deng then advised Liu Bei to flee to Yuan Shao, who had 1,000,000 troops under his command, and they could ally against Cao Cao and destroy him. Yuan Shao considered the matter for a long time; while he was angry at Liu Bei for destroying his brother, he also considered an attack against Cao Cao. Ultimately, Xu You and Xun Shen persuaded Yuan Shao to assist Liu Bei, and he prepared an army of 300,000 troops under Shen Pei, Peng Ji, Tian Feng, Xun Shen, Xu You, Yan Liang, and Wen Chou to march on Liyang. Chen Lin then wrote a manifesto listing Cao Cao's crimes and offering a reward for his death, and copies were posted in towns, cities, tax stations, gates, ferries, and passes, with some of them even reaching the capital. While Kong Rong urged Cao Cao to make peace with Yuan Shao, Xun Yu advised against doing so. Cao Cao then sent Liu Dai and Wang Zhong with 50,000 troops to attack Liu Bei to prevent him from allying with Yuan Shao as he led 200,000 troops to attack Yuan Shao at Liyang. Cao Cao and Yuan Shao's armies faced off at Liyang but never gave battle, so Cao Cao sent Zang Ba to continue the pressure on Qingzhou and Xuzhou, Yu Jin and Li Dian would deploy troops along the Yellow River, and Cao Ren would quarter the main force at Guandu as Cao Cao returned to Xuchang.

First invasion (199 AD)
Wang Zhong and Liu Dai could not agree as to who was supposed to initiate the attack on Liu Bei, so they drew lots and Liu Dai was forced to lead 25,000 troops to attack Liu Bei at Xuzhou. Guan Yu set out with 3,000 troops to reconnoiter the enemy and investigate whether Cao Cao was among them, and Wang Zhong said that he was. When Guan Yu asked to see Cao Cao, Wang Zhong insulted him, leading to a duel which led to Wang Zhong being captured and his troops scattering. Guan Yu then took Wang Zhong to Xuzhou, where he was imprisoned. Zhang Fei then volunteered to capture Liu Dai, and he set a trap: a "deserter" from his ranks told Liu Dai of a planned night attack, so Liu Dai readied his men for battle. However, Zhang Fei snuck around Liu Dai's force and set fire to his camp, and Zhang Fei then captured Liu Dai in the ensuing ambush. Liu Bei magnanimously decided to spare the two captives and send them to Xuchang to explain that he had only killed Che Zhou because Che Zhou had been instructed to murder him, and told them to inform Cao Cao that he did not want to show ingratitude for Cao Cao's kindness. Sun Qian decided that, in the likely event that Cao Cao himself would lead an army to attack Xu Province, Xuzhou could not be held, so Liu Bei sent Guan Yu to guard his two wives at Xiapi; Sun Qian, Jian Yong, Mi Zhu, and Mi Fang would hold Xuzhou; and Liu Bei and Zhang Fei went to Xiaopei.

Cao Cao's response
Cao Cao nearly put Wang Zhong and Liu Dai to death for treason, but Kong Rong convinced him to spare them, and also persuaded him to make peace with Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao before moving on Xuzhou. Jia Xu and Liu Ye persuaded Zhang Xiu to surrender to Cao Cao and join him against Yuan Shao, and Zhang Xiu was made a general and Jia Xu a counselor. He failed to make peace with Liu Biao, however, but Xun Yu advised him to focus on destroying Yuan Shao and Liu Bei first. Meanwhile, Qin Qingtong, a servant of Dong Cheng's who was caned forty times for whispering with one of Dong's concubines, betrayed Dong Cheng's conspiracy to Cao Cao interrogated and tortured the physician Ji Ping about his accomplices, and he brutally tortured Ji Ping into giving up the other conspirators. Ji Ping then smashed his head against the steps to the Emperor's palace until he died, dying in the first month of 200 AD. Cao Cao put all of the conspirators and their entire households to death, and he even had the Emperor's Consort Dong strangled to death as a member of Dong Cheng's family.

Second invasion (200 AD)
With the conspiracy defeated, Cao Cao was then advised by Guo Jia to pacify the east in one final battle by destroying Liu Bei before he could raise an army. Cao Cao prepared an army of 200,000 troops for the invasion of Xu Province, and he was not worried about Yuan Shao, who was overly cautious and dilatory; ultimately, Yuan Shao refused to act until his son Yuan Shang recovered from his scabies illness.

Zhang Fei decided to launch a surprise attack on Cao Cao before his army cout set up camp, and Liu Bei entrusted him with command. Xun Yu correctly interpreted a tornado as an omen that an attack would occur that night, and Liu Bei and Zhang Fei marched to attack Cao Cao as Sun Qian guarded Xiaopei. As Liu Bei's forces attacked Cao Cao's camp, Cao Cao's forces launched a counter-ambush. Zhang Ffei was forced to flee for the Mangdang Hills, and Liu Bei was only able to escape with around 50 soldiers. Liu Bei found that Xiaopei was in flames, so he fled towards Xiapi. He was unable to break through, as the whole countryside was filled with the enemy, and he was forced to flee north as he lost his remaining followers. Liu Bei fled to Qingzhou City, where he was welcomed in by Yuan Shao's son Yuan Tan. He then met with Yuan Shao, who let Liu Bei take refuge with him in Ji Province.

After the capture of Xiaopei, Cao Cao's forces took Xuzhou from Mi Fang, Jian Yong, and Chen Deng, and he then pressed on to Xiapi. Zhang Liao volunteered to speak with Guan Yu and convince him to peaceably surrender. Meanwhile, Guan Yu was lured out of Xiapi by a fleeing Xiahou Dun, and, while giving chase, he was ambushed by Xu Huang and Xu Chu. Guan Yu was surrounded on all sides before being met by Zhang Liao, and Guan Yu agreed to surrender under three conditions: Cao Cao would respect Liu Bei's concubines, Guan Yu would surrender to the Emperor and not to Cao Cao, and Guan Yu would be able to rejoin his brothers once he discovered their whereabouts. Cao Cao agreed to the terms, and Guan Yu was taken to Xuchang, where he was promoted to General Who Serves the Hans by the Emperor.

Aftermath
In Xuchang, Cao Cao sent Guan Yu ten lovely serving girls, a bag to protect his long beard, and the legendary horse Red Hare, but Cao Cao was annoyed by Guan Yu's continuing desire to eventually rejoin his sworn brother Liu Bei. Meanwhile, Liu Bei and Ju Shou persuaded Yuan Shao to march on Xuchang, while Yuan Shao imprisoned his other strategist Tian Feng for opposing his plan. Yuan Shao's army marched to Liyang, and Governor Liu Yue of Dongjun sent an urgent call to Xuchang for aid. Cao Cao sent out 150,000 troops in three directions to relieve Dongjun, encamping at Baima. The Battle of Guandu followed shortly after.